


Redemption

by eggsinsunnyside



Series: Interaction [2]
Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Experimentation, Loosely follows the game plot, UNKNOWN (Off Fangame) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-07-28 10:30:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7636699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggsinsunnyside/pseuds/eggsinsunnyside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zacharie enlists the help of the Puppeteer to restore the world, so many things can go wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Game

The world is nothing.

Everything had been wiped out by the power of a single Switch.

A Switch that was pulled by the Batter and the Puppeteer. 

Now all that remained was regret and the Puppeteer who returned to the darkness they were so familiar with. 

They hadn't meant to destroy the world they had grown used to. They hadn't meant to send the innocent residents of the world to oblivion. They hadn't meant to erase the only ones that kept everything in balance. They hadn't meant to murder the red sickly child whose every cough rattled his body. 

They just wanted things to be perfect, like the Queen but so much more different.

Long time ago in many past timelines, they had blamed the Batter, their puppet, for deceiving them. They didn't want to be associated with him anymore but the GAME would not allow the Puppeteer to progress without the Batter.

So they did what they had done before; killing the Guardians and purifying the Zones one by one. The events ran just like the first and the climax was just the same. The Judge would confront the Batter and the Puppeteer for their misdeeds and offer the Puppeteer to do what was right.

They've lost count on how many times they had betrayed the Batter, and the times when they stayed with the Batter. Once, they hadn't made the choice at all but the Batter always prevailed. Except that one timeline where the Puppeteer made him use his basic gears again, making him very weak to the Judge’s brutal assault. The world still returned to oblivion after that. 

“Miaou.” A familiar meow called out, clear and loud. 

Puppeteer didn't stir at all. They were drifting between the line of being conscious after being in nothingness for so long. Plus, they were pretty sure that meow was a one time thing.

“It's not very polite to ignore someone, dear Puppeteer.” A black and white figure stood (floated? Drifted? Who knew in a place where nothing existed?) and a cat mask on his face. 

Puppeteer doesn't remember that mask. They do remember the voice. They forced their attention on the figure, effectively ‘waking’ them up.

“Welcome back, Puppeteer.” Zacharie greeted them, his mask providing a smile for him. “It has been a while since we’ve last seen each other, I assume. One can only wonder in a nonexistent world.” 

There wasn't any reply. Zacharie didn't mind, at least the Puppeteer didn't think he did. Zacharie was always an enigma to them, always so vague but helpful, and insufferably annoying at some moments. He did have his perks though. 

> Zacharie…?

He remembers how their ‘voice’ sounded like, silent but everywhere. It did seem to be quieter though. 

“Ah, it is good to see that you remember me. For a moment, I had assumed that you forgot me.” Said Zacharie.

> Who would forget someone with a really bad meow?

“My miaou is the best, I don't know what you are talking about.” Zacharie retorted with a meow and chuckled amusedly when the Puppeteer let out a groan. “Let us get to the point. I know why you're here.”

> Depends what you mean

> Do you mean you know why I'm HERE, or in this nothingness?

“In the nothingness.” Zacharie answered though he was confused on what the Puppeteer meant for the first one. “You want to restore the world that you, as well as the Batter, have eradicated, don't you?”

The Puppeteer didn't speak but Zacharie could tell he had their full attention. That is if his sudden appearance didn't catch all of it.

“I'm certain you know that the task may not easy but, because I like you, I am willing to give it a try.” Zacharie offered and added, “It does get quite lonely, all on your own.”

> Not wrong…

The Puppeteer wasn't sure what loneliness was, but they were certain that it isn't a pleasant thing.

“So will you help me make everything better?” He asked.

The Puppeteer merely stared at him. They know that Zacharie is a good guy, even though he willingly helped the Batter and the Puppeteer erase the world. 

They agreed to help.

Zacharie’s chuckle rang throughout the void. “It will be a pleasure working with you, Puppeteer. I suppose your new mission is to turn the world back on, and restore the zones to their previous state.”

> … Not mine

Zacharie blinked. “Pardon?”

> Our mission, Zacharie

> I can't do this alone

For a moment, Zacharie was stunned but he eventually chuckled. “Of course. Our mission, Puppeteer.”

Perhaps they were finally about to redeem themselves for their actions.


	2. Pig

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > Is that a pig

Though he was expected their mission to be difficult, he still felt surprise when the Switch turned out to be stuck in place. 

“Looks like we found our first problem, dear Puppeteer.” Zacharie said, giving the Switch a long look. “Perhaps we should retreat to the Nothingness and think about what to do next.” 

He turned around and went down the hallway, only to be greeted by a very peculiar creature. It was white and grey, with a pair of large ears, sharp snout and black hooves. 

The creature growled, “Fool! What makes you think you can-”

> Is that a pig?

The ‘pig’ let out an indignant squeak from the Puppeteer interrupting his dialogue. Zacharie snorted, he couldn't see the resemblance at all.

“I am Seneca, a great being of power, Puppeteer! I am not a pig!” Seneca corrected irritatedly, glaring at the direction of the Puppeteer.

> Oh my gosh, Zacharie

> THE PIG CAN HEAR ME

“So it seems, although I don't see their similarity with a pig.” Zacharie commented. 

“Puppeteer, you are testing my patience.” Seneca growled. “Call me that foul animal once more and I will erase your existence completely.”

Zacharie paused when he felt waves of temptation hitting him for no reason. Then he realised, he is the Puppeteer’s puppet and is therefore connected with them. That included their voice AND their emotions which was right now steering towards amusement and oh my god they're going to do it

“Puppeteer, don't do it-”

> PIGGY GOES OINK OINK

“Oh my god.” 

"I WILL ERADICATE YOU IMBECILES."

Nobody but the Puppeteer would remember that there was four resets because Seneca kept losing his temper whenever the Puppeteer identified him as a pig and knocked out Zacharie every time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who can tell I'm running out of shenanigans? Ok but seriously, who didn't think Seneca was a pig at first glance?


	3. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ghost returns to Zone 1 and Zacharie cries from sadness not his own

 

The smoke mines of Zone 1 hadn't changed a bit.

 

The walls were as purple as the Puppeteer could recall and their muscle memory was the only reason Zacharie found that secret room.

 

“It's a shame that Seneca removed the ladder to the barn. I liked that area.” Zacharie said.

 

> There was… Cows there, right?

 

“For an omniscient being, you certainly don't know much about this game.” He commented jokingly. He could hear a little huff in his head and childish indignation hit him.

 

> Near omniscient, Zacharie

 

> Get it right

 

His reply was to chuckle, “Whatever you say, dear Puppeteer.”

 

He travelled up to the northern section of the mines, slaying any spectres that crossed his path with the Puppeteer issuing commands to him.

 

The mines gradually got darker, and darker around him until he could barely see a feet ahead of him. Even the Puppeteer’s view was limited to him and they could do little to expand the ex-merchant’s sight.

 

It didn't matter in the end when they reached the end of the hall where a ghostly apparition waited.

 

“Ah-” Zacharie gasped, shocked. “... Batter?”

 

Right before him was the Batter with very obvious changes to his now intangible body. His legs were replaced with a wispy tail and his arms were separated into floating limbs. He no longer wore the stoic, stern expression but an exhausted, lost look.

 

“No, that’s not possible. You should’ve taken your life along with the life of the Zones. I’m just seeing things. You’re not real. You’re dead.”

 

His breaths began to hitch as mixed feelings flooded his mind. Sadness, anger, fear, joy, all these feelings felt like a raging storm. He almost missed the ghost’s drawn out mumbles.

 

“ _The world should be gone. It should be over…!”_ Batter’s ghost muttered, “ _The Switch should’ve turned everything OFF!”_

 

Zacharie felt light headed, his breaths coming in short and panicky. This shouldn’t happen, he wasn’t that close to the Batter to feel this affected.

 

‘ _Breath. Calm down.’_ Zacharie thought, taking a moment to compose his breathing. His breathings became calmer, but the feelings persisted. He wondered what exactly was it about the Batter’s state that caused him to be like this.

 

The Batter didn’t wait for him and was already launching his attacks. Yet the Puppeteer wasn’t taking action.

 

“Puppeteer, I require your commands right now!” Zacharie urged. The strings remained still. The ex-merchant fought off the urge to yell at the controller. Were they too busy gawking at the Batter’s state to issue a simple Fight command?

 

…

 

_Oh._

 

_OH._

 

How could he forget?

 

The Batter was the Puppeteer’s closest friend and vice versa. He remembers some of their conversations, and he knew that the Puppeteer missed the Batter, believing the man to be dead. It made sense, considering how everything was erased to the Nothingness. Then there was him who disapproved that nothing remained. Now, the Batter too.

 

It’s no wonder why the Puppeteer was shocked to the point that he was almost overwhelmed by emotions.

 

“Puppeteer, I know you’re in shock from this but there is a battle to fight. I need your assistance!” Zacharie called out desperately, wincing as the Batter struck another hard blow on his figure. The strings did not move. He could feel his health nearing zero and there was nothing he could do about it, unless the Puppeteer regained their senses. Something which didn’t look like it would be happening any time soon.

 

He was already seeing spots.

 

…

 

**Fight**

 

**Item**

 

**Luck Ticket**

 

His fingers tore apart the ticket and let its energy mend his wounds. A relieved sigh escaped him.

 

“For a moment, I thought you had abandoned me.” Zacharie chuckled, feeling energised.

 

> I’m sorry

 

> I’m really sorry

 

“We can discuss about that later, but let us focus on this battle now, shall we?” He said and the strings moved. His arms swung and the sword connected with the Batter. A pang of guilt and fear flashed in his mind, but neither belonged to him. It took a while to strike the Batter down but the deed was done.

 

The ghost of the purifier stared at Zacharie for a long time before speaking, “ _Z… a…. c… h…. e…. r… i…. e….?_ ”

 

“It seems that battle managed to knock some sense into you Batter.” Zacharie noted, lowering his sword.

 

“ _I don’t understand…_ ” The Batter shook his head in disbelief. “ _I flipped the switch. It should all be over…_ ”

 

“I have a slight idea as of why the world is intact even after The Switch was flicked.” Zacharie offered. “The GAME should’ve ended, but instead it just carries on. I have found an entity that calls itself ‘Seneca’.”

 

Understandably, the Batter gave him a questioning look. “ _Seneca?”_

 

“Yes. There is a chance that this Seneca has taken over the role as a Guardian, the Guardian of Zone 1 in fact.” Zacharie theorised, and pointed to himself and the ceiling. “He tried to kill me before.”

 

“The Puppeteer… They’re back?” Recognition and another emotion flashed on the Batter’s face, and a small smile was beginning to develop on the ghost’s face. Relief and happiness began to fill his thoughts and if not for his mask, Zacharie would’ve been openly smiling from the happiness that doesn’t belong to him.

 

“Yes, they are here. They were stuck in the Nothingness after you had flipped the Switch and decided to accompany me now, seeing as you are no longer of the living kind.” Zacharie explained. “We both want to restore the Zones to what they used to be. Lively and free. Of course they were never the most friendly places to be in… However it is always worth a try.”

 

“But my purpose is to…” The Batter started.

 

“Batter, don’t you see?” The ex-merchant interrupted. “The game is over. **You have no purpose.**  Unless, of course, you’d like to stop your confused weeping in the mines to join me.”

 

The Batter was silent.

 

Worry was seeping in Zacharie’s mind and began to plant foreign doubts. It’s a good thing he is very aware that the doubts aren’t his, but the Puppeteer’s.

 

“Okay.” The Batter finally replied. “I will join you.”

 

Delight and elation immediately filled Zacharie and for a while, the ex-merchant thinks that both of the Puppeteer and him are feeling this. He suppose he’s pleased because it’s always a pleasure to work with someone from the previous World.

 

“I believe the Puppeteer would like to speak to you.” Zacharie said. “However, I am not certain if you will be able to hear them as clearly as when you were alive.”

 

> … Batter?

 

Silence reigned the smoke mines and despair filled the Puppeteer again.

 

> Batter, please say something

 

The Batter seemed to share the Puppeteer’s despair. “I… I can’t hear them anymore...”

 

It took a while for Zacharie to register something wet on his cheek, dripping down his chin in big droplets. “... Puppeteer?”

 

There wasn’t any reply from the controller. The only way that Zacharie could tell that the Puppeteer was still with them was the transparent strings that now connected both him and the Batter.

 

> NoOnoNonooNOo

 

> IC **A** n’TbE **L** efTbehindn **O** pleAsedO **N** ’tleAVEm **E**

 

Their voice became warped and distorted, and Zacharie’s body began to shake as tears were shed without his intention. He wasn’t used to this at all, and it needs to stop-

 

“Puppeteer…” Batter called out. “I can’t hear you… But I can still feel you… You aren’t alone… I am here… So don’t cry…”

 

In response to that, Zacharie (or rather the Puppeteer) ended up crying for a good solid ten minutes before settling down to minor hiccups and sobs.

 

> That was the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said

 

> And it’s working

 

Zacharie reached under his mask and quickly wiped away the tears. His eyes stung now. “The Puppeteer says that was the cheesiest thing you have ever stated and yet it is working on them.”

 

> Ok, I think I finished breaking down

 

> And Zacharie?

 

Their voice has returned to its normal state.

 

“Yes, dear Puppeteer?”

 

> Sorry for… well

 

> Leaving you alone and then making you cry my tears

 

“No worries, dear Puppeteer, so as long as you don’t do that again.” Zacharie said. “It is a bit disconcerting that you can make me shed tears from your emotions alone.”

 

The Batter shot him an understanding look.

 

He knew that experience so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the delay on this chapter; just couldn't really write it out properly.


	4. Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte is broken. What's wrong with trying to help?

In a world like this, the Puppeteer was surprised how few were broken. 

The Elsens were surely broken in their fear, always wallowing in it instead of standing up for their imperfect world but they weren’t truly broken. 

The Batter was broken in that he couldn’t stand the thought of an impure world continuing its decaying existence and sought a way to end it all. 

The Observer, Charlotte though? 

Broken, through and through. Slowly letting out distorted fonts in fragments, none in a full sentence or making sense. It was different to how the Batter spoke. The Batter spoke fine, just slow and quieter. The Observer on the other hand, couldn’t even string together a sentence to save her life. Or what was left of it anyway, after what Seneca had done to her. 

Pablo was doing his best to console her and hopefully retrieve pieces of her former character. Batter kept his distance, keeping an eye out for whatever threat may come their way. So was Zacharie, their current puppet. 

They can feel his anger bubbling behind his mask and the Puppeteer can’t say they share his sentiments. They liked Charlotte. The Observer, conceited as she was that she could stand against the Puppeteer, was endearing and kind. She had the knowledge of the Wall and the ability to communicate with the Puppeteer, just like Zacharie. 

Seeing her in such a broken state – it made the Puppeteer pity her. 

She was trying to help them, and she paid the price to Seneca unwillingly. Since she had helped them, surely the Puppeteer could extend a hand back? For all it was worth, she didn’t deserve to remain as a rambling shell of her former self. 

Although, how would someone help an Observer who was broken in her mind that she couldn’t acknowledge the physical world anymore? She wouldn’t react to Pablo’s comforts, only repeating the warped words like a broken record player. 

The Puppeteer thought back, replaying a hundred loops of memories about their puppet and their mission to purify. 

For what exactly? 

It was to save the world, they both knew.

( Or perhaps it was only the Puppeteer who thought that )

What did they do when the Judge lost his brother? 

They left him to weep over the bloodied remains. 

What did they do to the mistreated Elsens in Zone 1?

They did nothing. 

( Perhaps in another timeline, they’d team up with a rebellious Elsen but that was for another story )

What did they do to the Elsens who’ve gone burnt?

What did they do to the Elsen who cried for help in Zone 3?

… Ah. 

There’s the answer. 

There’s confusion from Zacharie when he notices his hand grasping his sword. “Puppeteer?”

They don’t say a word back, except maybe let their pity flow in the strings. Zacharie will understand eventually. The Batter did after all when they fought against the Elsen in Zone 3. 

“Puppeteer, stop!” Zacharie is yelling at the Puppeteer now, anger and shock taking over his confusion. Pablo and the Batter are now staring at Zacharie who has his sword drawn now and visibly sweating at the act. 

“Zacharie you imbecile, what are you doing?!” Pablo hisses out, putting his small feline body in front of Charlotte protectively. 

“I-It’s not me, it’s-“ Zacharie is grunting with effort, doing his best to tug his hand down and throw away the sword threatening his allies. “Puppeteer, stop this immediately!”

Except no matter what he does, the strings ultimately win against his struggles and the world flashes to a battleground. 

There’s no music in the distance, none that fills the Puppeteer’s ears. That’s okay. They don’t think music would be appropriate for freeing Charlotte from her pain, least none of the music that the world supplies them. 

Between Zacharie and Charlotte, only Pablo stands between them and the Puppeteer thinks of a few ways to get rid of Pablo nonlethally. They’d hate to fight the feline again, especially in times like this. 

The strings pull against Zacharie’s arms and he’s forced to dance along them. Red flashes in the blue room as Pablo scores a hit from the sword, and now that blood’s been drawn, the Batter lunges into the fight to hold back the mercenary. 

> Stop fighting

“Puppeteer, explain right now what you’re trying to do!” Zacharie snarls at his controller, his grip tightening on the handle of his sword. He doesn’t know if it’s him or the Puppeteer that’s doing it. 

> Helping Charlotte

“And what part of trying to murder her is considered helping?!” 

The stamina gauge bar has stopped completely. There’s no movement from either puppet or puppeteer. Pablo raises his brow at Zacharie curiously, but he keeps his body in front of Charlotte protectively in case the merchant acted again. 

There’s a flair of childish anger, the one you feel at hearing someone interpret your action as completely wrong. 

> I’m not murdering her!

> I’m helping her!

“Again, what does- How are you supposed to help her like this?!” Zacharie’s anger rises in retaliation to the Puppeteer’s own. 

> This will take her out of pain! 

“Yeah right, by ending her life!” 

“ENOUGH!” The Batter bellowed in a rare moment of anger, his voice lacking its usual quiet. “Puppeteer. Enough.”

It’s the first time either of them hears the Batter speak so clearly without exhaustion weighing his words down. The anger dissipates in short seconds and the strings stop pulling at Zacharie. 

Zacharie heaves out a heavy sigh and sends the Batter a grateful nod, “Thank you, amigo. I don’t think any of us would’ve liked what’d happen next.” He sends a glare up at where he feels the Puppeteer’s presence and there’s a stab of foreign guilt in the strings. 

Good. 

He hoped they felt guilty for what they’ve done.

What they tried to make him do. 

> I just wanted to help…

“Some help that was. How about next time you want to help, you don’t make me raise a weapon against a friend?” Zacharie snarked, sheathing his sword. “Haven’t had enough of killing yet, have you?” 

> It’s not like that! 

“Then pray tell, what exactly about this situation that made you think killing Charlotte was going to help her?” 

> I thought

> I just thought it was like the Elsens

“What about the Elsens?” Zacharie asked. 

> They were hurt

> Me and the Batter were the only ones around to help

“… Oh. I see where you are getting at.” Zacharie ran his fingers through his hair. “… You know that is not how you help people. Especially in their misery.”

> The Elsens wanted help, they got help

“Yes, but Charlotte isn’t an Elsen.” Zacharie reminded the Puppeteer, gesturing at the Observer. “You can’t just kill her and put her out of her misery like that. That’s not helping her.”

> So how else are we meant to help her?

> She won’t speak, she won’t reply and she’s too incoherent to properly speak

“It’ll take time but for now, you keep your sociopathic strings away from her.” Zacharie hisses out. The Puppeteer doesn’t reply back, their presence retreating back to whatever plane of existence they lived in. If it wasn’t for the strings, Zacharie might’ve thought that the Puppeteer had truly left. 

The Batter stares at Zacharie with a strange look, “They were only trying to help.”

He knows they were. It still doesn’t erase the fact that their ‘help’ meant to kill the Observer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 2 long years since I wrote OFF content, especially continuing this series. For that, I apologise to the people waiting for an update for too long without so much of a notice. It's about time I got off my ass and actually finished the first series I made.


	5. Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you stop a near omnipotent entity that destroyed the world and doesn't exist in the physical plane?

When Seneca finally sensed that the wretched merchant and his lackeys have entered the Nothingness, he knew it was about time before they would approach his Zone. His land. 

Well technically all the zones were his lands now, but this particular Zone would be his lair. 

Everyone needs a lair. Even the Puppeteer had a lair that sat in the realm beyond the physical plane. Speaking of the Puppeteer…

Seneca hummed to himself in thought. Despite what Zacharie believed himself to be, he was anything but a threat to the greater being that is Seneca. Same with that deceased purifier, that cat and sweet little Charlotte – they all believed them to be a threat to Seneca. How naïve. 

The only one who posed as a threat somewhat to Seneca was the Puppeteer. 

Don’t get him wrong, the Puppeteer would never be that big of a threat to the great Seneca, but their capabilities would definitely become troublesome. He may’ve not been present for when the world ended by its strings but he knew enough to know the entity was intelligent enough to manipulate a single purifier to destroy the former Guardians of the world.

His first idea at the time was to simply cut off the Puppeteer’s strings that connected it to its puppet, Zacharie. Unfortunately, the matter was much more complicated than simply severing the strings. The strings did not exist in the physical plane, and Seneca couldn’t exactly just experiment on the Puppeteer with how they were rivals and all. 

He can’t even get close to the entity without engaging into a fight with Zacharie, and as weak as the merchant is, Seneca does not want to go limping back to his lair after a beating from his sword. The most he could do was ‘move’ the strings, disrupt them enough to interrupt the Puppeteer’s activity but that didn’t last more than a few seconds. 

His second idea was to separate the Puppeteer from Zacharie but that idea was quickly shot down. The Puppeteer did not have a physical body like the rest of them, only existing in that strange realm of theirs and therefore there was no way of separating the two. Even then, there were too many unknowns that surrounded the Puppeteer. Conventional methods would not work against such an entity. 

Honestly, he didn’t have a lot of ideas on how to deal with the Puppeteer but knowing his greatness, he’ll eventually figure out a way. Nobody was safe from Seneca, not even some eldritch abomination from beyond the realm. 

It came in a moment of eureka when he was trying to recreate a Zacharie clone. The clone was an unfortunate failure, becoming a sloppy piece of mess made out of rotten meat and blood. 

“Why won’t you useless clones just WORK?! These bodies should be perfect after all those tests!” He snapped at the dying clone that cried out pathetically. 

With just a pull of a lever, the clone was struck down and disintegrated into dusts. Seneca shook his head at the remains, disgruntled at the failure. This body didn’t even last ten seconds before it broke down on him. How disappointing. 

What was it that he was missing? Was he missing some sort of integral part for the clones to not break down on him? Was he missing a force of some kind to give his creation a proper life force? 

…

Wait a minute. 

Force. 

A life force. 

Something alive that wasn’t physical. 

Seneca felt a grin widening on his face as a plan began to assemble in his genius mind. 

The Puppeteer was virtually undefeatable because of their lack of a proper body ( that would be the only time Seneca would ever admit to such a thing and he will never do it again ). If something was incorporeal, then therefore you must give it a body in order to harm it. 

And Seneca had more than enough bodies to spare. 

Now all that was left to do was isolate the subject…


	6. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One by one, they all fall down and not even the Puppeteer is safe from the fallout.

After all those loops of purifying the world, one would’ve thought to be careful when running into enemy territory. The Puppeteer had believed themselves to be cautious enough around the pig called Seneca but oh, how naïve they were.

It was subtle, very subtle changes that didn’t catch onto their interest initially. Probably because of their anger that came after Zone 2 was erased from existence. That point aside, the moment Zacharie had walked opened that chest, they completely lost contact with everyone.

The strings were scrambled and for the first time, the Puppeteer couldn’t find Zacharie. Pablo, the Judge instead was within their range and perhaps he could detect the entity’s panic.

“There is no need to be alarmed Puppeteer.” Pablo comforted them, “Let us go and reunite with our fellow comrades.”

The Puppeteer decided not to speak up about the letters on the grey floor spelling, ‘REGRET’.

Once Pablo had stepped through that door, the blue of Zone 2 – the true Zone 2 – flooded the scene. Among that blue was a white creature.

“Valerie?” Pablo identified his long-lost brother with a joyful smile, “Valerie, it is I, Pablo…!”

Instead of meeting his brother’s smile with one of his own, Valerie instead shook his head and whispered shakily, “Pablo… Pl-Please go away…” before he disappeared in a flash of light.

The Puppeteer was immediately suspicious. They knew Valerie had passed away a long time ago. They knew because it was them that slayed the cat, both directly and indirectly. Japhet was the cat’s true murderer, but the Batter and the Puppeteer had to attack Valerie’s body in order to unleash the Guardian of Zone 2. Either way, Valerie was supposed to be dead.

There was no logical reason why he had appeared before them earlier.

> Judge, this has to be a trap-

The Judge unfortunately, could not hear the Puppeteer nor did he acknowledge their hesitance. He was too busy dismaying over Valerie’s second disappearance.

“Valerie, wait! I beg of you!” He snapped his head up to the ceiling, “Puppeteer! That creature was no doubt my departed brother! Let us make haste and find him! Who knows what Seneca could do to this poor innocent soul!”

But was it really him?

The Puppeteer knew they were in Seneca’s realm. They had to be, unless Seneca had managed to transport everyone out of the zone which was debatable considering how they lost contact with everyone else.

They reluctantly followed up the stairs all the way up to the top, where the tower became progressively darker and darker. It wasn’t until they cross the outside balcony that the room lost its blue, instead exchanging it with grey floors and walls. White writings were etched on the floor.

SAVE VALERIE

YOU ARE ALONE NOW

A bunch of indecipherable squiggles-

“Valerie! My dearest brother, Valerie!”

Valerie. He was there, standing in the darkness.

“I cannot believe you are here, alive and well!” The Judge exclaimed, relief settling in his tone. “Come with us. Together, we will slay the evil entity known as Seneca and make the world a better place!”

Valerie smiled back to his brother, “Pablo… I am so glad…”

> P A B L O C O M E B A

“… that you have fallen into my trap.”

Over Seneca’s laughter, there was a loud snap in the air as a string was severed and sent the Puppeteer plunging into the dark.

One down. Three more to go.

* * *

 This time, they’re with Charlotte. She cries out loud with a soft tone, her broken self unable to scream. When she felt the Puppeteer’s presence, she lets out a happy mewl, a small crooked smile gracing her tear stricken face.

“Puppet… Teer..” There’s a string that just barely attaches itself to her but it provides enough to be a comforting presence to the feline. “We go find… yes?”

She didn’t need to elaborate any further on her words. It was pretty clear she was confused about where the others had gone too.

> We’ll find them

Charlotte can’t hear them, not without Zacharie’s aid and hopefully she doesn’t see the words scratched onto the floor.

IMPURE

The world they’re taken to is red and black, the colour of meat and rot. There’s a few Elsen corpses laid around the land, in all their dead glory. The Puppeteer doesn’t let Charlotte interact with them. There’s no knowing what will seeing a corpse do to the mentally broken feline.

“My dear Charlotte, come closer…” Seneca’s laughter echoes in the distance and Charlotte whimpers at the noise. “Let me embrace you…”

The sound of the zone starts to assault the Puppeteer’s senses and it’s all so wrong. It sounds broken, distorted and terrible – a dying land’s voice corrupted by the wannabe ruler. Along with the disturbing music, the red road is replaced by a grey road with a railroad track set on it.

Seneca continues to laugh in the distance. “You’re so close to me. I can hear your fragile little heart beating.”

Charlotte’s trembling in her steps now. Nothing the Puppeteer can do to comfort her, just like how the Judge did with her when they found her in Zone 2. Nothing but continue to push onwards to beat Seneca’s face in because that’s all they can do at the moment.

They come across a very familiar scene. A hill that faces upwards to the cloudy skies, trees stripped of their leaves all uselessly rooted in place on the dirt. At the summit of the cliff stands Seneca, staring down at Charlotte.

“My beloved Charlotte…” He giggles unnervingly, “You remember this realm, don’t you?” He gestures to the desolate hill and its dying trees, “It holds such a dear place inside your mind and memories…”

Charlotte trots up to Seneca, staring at him with unblinking mismatching eyes. “What have you done to me?”

“Charlotte, I am not powerful enough to bring your dearest memory, your father, back to our world…” Seneca shakes his head, almost appearing genuinely apologetic.

Charlotte ignores him and stands beside him atop the hill.

“The view is amazing, isn’t it?”

Charlotte jumps.

> C H A R L O

“Wh- Charlotte!” Seneca cries out.

The Puppeteer was sent back to the darkness as another string was severed.

Two down. Two more to go.

* * *

 

The Batter’s ghost stares up to the Puppeteer who had been drifting in the space between. He couldn’t communicate with them as clearly as before anymore, not with Zacharie being the main puppet of the team, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t tuned with the Puppeteer’s feelings.

Right now, they could feel worry and confusion, and the Batter can’t say he blames them. It hadn’t been that long ago since they entered Seneca’s realm and the self proclaimed master had already separated the team individually.

The Puppeteer can make out the new word in the room.

HELP

This time there’s no new land that the Batter is transported to, just another grey room with letters haphazardly scratched onto the floor.

S A V E H I M

Save who exactly? The Puppeteer didn’t know. It’s times like this that they wish they were truly the omnipotent entity that so many mistook them to be. They just happened to view the world in a different angle that enabled them to perceive the answers others could not see.

The answer comes in the form of an Elsen panicking as three copies of Seneca start to close in on him.

“DO NOT BE ALARMED.”

“THE PROCESS WILL NOT TAKE LONG.”

“Is… that..?” Batter rasped out.

> That’s the Elsen that stole Zacharie’s job in Zone 2!

The Puppeteer recognized him from the corrupted Zone 2 prior to its destruction. Bandit, his name was and oh, what a fitting name it was. He had gained the ire of Zacharie fairly quickly after they learnt he had plundered the ex-merchant’s wares to pick up his job. It had been a humorous moment.

Right now, though, he was about to be destroyed by Seneca through whatever cruel punishment the fox-pig thing had in mind.

“Batter!” Bandit exclaimed, relief flooding his voice. “Boy am I glad to see you!”

“Ban….di..” The Batter made a face as he tried to pronounce the Elsen’s name. “Ban… D…”

“Don’t hurt ya’self, buddy.”Bandit chuckled, slightly amused at the Batter’s attempt before wildly gesturing at the three Senecas surrounding him. “You gotta get me outta here! They’re coming at me from all angles.”

“They say they’re gonna take me to a room. I don’t know where that is, but it can’t be good.”

“DO NOT BE ALARMED.”

“THE PROCESS WILL NOT TAKE LONG.”

The Batter is quick to jump in action, figuratively, as he chased after the three Senecas terrorizing Bandit. However as soon as he gets close to them, the room flashes red and all the sudden, it was only the Batter and Bandit.

“Uh…” Bandit sheepishly scratched the back of his head, and the sense of wrongness fills the air, “Look, buddy, I know what I said a few moments ago…”

> BATTE

“But you really, really should not have done that.”

The Batter stares at Bandit with shock and betrayal, mouth slowly opening to wheeze out a response, “W…hy..?”

“Because he was bait, of course.” Seneca cackled.

“For all it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Bandit apologized, before the Batter was struck with red.

“And you bit into it like a mouse on a delicious cheese.” Seneca giggled at the Batter and the Puppeteer.

> Y O U T R A I T O R . . . !

Even without a connection to the entity, Bandit could feel the raw anger pervading the air and meekly looked away, “… I’m so so sorry…”

The string snapped and the last thing the Puppeteer saw was their dear Batter being taken away to a room full of red.

The Puppeteer screamed and demanded for blood to be spilled, vengeance be paid for the traitor who betrayed their trust – Bandit doesn’t deserve to live! – but Seneca’s laughter rings louder than their inaudible screams.

“And you, dear Puppeteer… Oh the fun we’ll have. I have just the perfect experiment to perform on you.” There was a sharp tug and for the first time in forever, the Puppeteer lost control of their strings. Only Seneca’s laughter could be heard in the discord and even his voice faded away over in time.


	7. Transistor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From a bodiless eldritch entity to a living being with a body

It was times like this that the Puppeteer truly wished that they were the omniscient being that everyone mistakes them to be. 

Understanding things was their specialty. 

They understood the Batter’s motive behind his mission to purify, the Judge’s desire to see his lost brother again, the Observer’s need to test them back in Zone 2 and Zacharie’s request to restore the world. 

They knew how the world originally functioned; smoke was the air everyone breathed, metal came from the rotten flesh of animals and sugar was the poison that brought calm to the mind. 

So, it should’ve been simple to understand their current circumstances that lead to them suddenly waking on an unfamiliar table in an unfamiliar room. 

One moment they had been gazing down at Seneca’s empty laboratory with no way to reach out to the others ( ZacharieBatterJudgeCharlotte ) and the next, they were staring up to the ceiling that they could never see before. 

The thought of seeing the ceiling didn’t even occur to them initially. They had never seen a ceiling before. The only reason they knew it was a ceiling was from knowing the concept and words from their puppets at the time. It was… bland. Very bland. Nothing interesting except a colored slab to give the room shelter. From what exactly eluded the Puppeteer but if they were staring up at the ceiling then…

What was the expression of surprise that Pablo used before? 

By the Queen’s thousands faces…? 

Yeah, that sounded about right. Personally, they don’t actually know if the Queen does have thousands of faces and they’d never know now that she was gone. A missed opportunity from thousands time loops ago.

So they were somehow looking up at a ceiling that they couldn’t see before. That’s definitely surprising. Everything seems so much bigger. Much bigger. Not flat in squares and rectangles of a single color. They had other sides too. Other sides that covered the back, the left, the right and the bottom, not just the front and top. The walls too, the front wall that they could never see or notice, just like with the ceiling –

Was this how Zacharie saw the world? Shapes that weren’t as two dimensional as the screen showed to the Puppeteer. Rooms being bigger than a couple of centimeters and no longer gazed down from above. 

Had they not been so distracted by the excitement of seeing things from the ground perspective, perhaps they would’ve noticed the crushing pressure building up in their chest. 

It was an unfamiliar discomfort, one that the Puppeteer did not recognize at all and with no concepts or ideas to help identify the cause of it, they collapsed. Not on the floor thankfully, thy hadn’t even noticed that they were strapped down to a table ( how did they not notice that ) and now they can’t claw at whatever’s tightening their throat, slowly but surely killing the Puppeteer.

There was a blur of white at the corner of their sight and for a brief moment, the Puppeteer tries to call out for the Batter who is as black and white as the blur they saw. 

“-Breathe! Hurry up and breathe already!” 

Breathe? 

What was that? 

Breathing… Breathing… The act of taking air into the lungs and expelling it. Right, didn’t the Elsens do that too? How would the Puppeteer breathe? What did they need to breathe? When were they supposed to breathe? 

This was too painful, much too painful for them to bear and they just want to get this feeling over and done with. Gone so that they won’t have to deal with this anymore. Even returning to the Nothingness would beat feeling this agonizing suffering. 

Something pressed down on their chest and pushes down hard, increasing the pressure tenfold. There was a silent gasp tearing out of their throat before finally does the Puppeteer realize that they have a chest, where the lungs are hidden in. 

With all their remaining willpower, they forced the lungs to expand, sucking in the air through their mouth and thankfully lifting the pressure almost instantaneously. 

When the discomfort tries to settle in again after a few seconds, their chest is pressed down on again and once again, the Puppeteer had to manually force the lungs to expand over and over again. It was tiresome and repetitive, but the pressure had disappeared, allowing the Puppeteer some semblance of calm. 

“I swear if you had died after I finally have you awake, I would’ve stuck you to the most advanced torturing chamber set up for you.” A familiar cackle, laced with anger and irritation. 

Seneca.

They tried to scream. Yell. Anything, just to give Seneca a piece of their frazzled mind. 

Seneca barely batted a beady eye at the distorted scream the Puppeteer let out, instead scribbling down something on his clipboard. “Yes, yes, I know you are angry. Always angry, aren’t you? I’d imagine that it’s quite the transition you’ve made, from seeing beyond our realm to entering said realm.”

Confused. What did he mean by entering? They were just seeing stuffs, right? 

Their confusion must’ve shown because Seneca was sneering at them, hovering his face not too far from them. “Let me be the first to welcome you in your new body.” His smirk grew wider. “Whether its permanent or not, we will see.”

New body? 

That’s impossible. They’ve never had a body. Not then. Not now. Not ever. 

There was something brushing against them and for the briefest of time, they marvel over the strange sensation that was neither comforting or discomforting. Something else weighs down at them and Seneca stares at the body that does not move. 

“Are you that incompetent at using a body?” 

They ignore him, instead directing their attention to testing out each limb one at a time. 

A twitch of the finger, a shaky wave of an arm and a reminder from Seneca to expand their lungs to breathe, else they choke on their own inability to do the most basic need of living beings. 

Feel the cold air brushing against their new pale skin ( they have skin now ), the hard metal pressing against their backside and don’t forget to breathe. 

Wiggle a toe, shake a leg and breathe again, you need to keep breathing after each one. 

“Swallow your saliva, I don’t need slobber on the floor thank you.” Seneca looked disgusted at watching the Puppeteer practice swallowing their saliva. 

Seneca might have a point about slobber. It felt gross, swirling inside the confines of the mouth and the Puppeteer has half the mind to let it spill on the floor. Except they don’t because their mouth will feel uncomfortably dry, and after nearly choking out of not breathing, they don’t want to experience life killing discomforts again. 

There’s so many things for the body to do and it’s overwhelming for the Puppeteer to finally acknowledge that they do the remaining three senses that they couldn’t do before; taste, touch and smell. 

It was too much information. 

Too many things that made up the world and made up the body that was caging them in.

The air, the smell, the touching, and the music that always played whether they were out or in – 

Feels like the world has frozen in an eternal paused state so that the Puppeteer would be fed with all these sensations of taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing. 

Just like back in the Nothingness before Zacharie but they didn’t have the taste or touch or smell to taunt them with knowledge of the unknown. 

All the little information that they just knew now pressing into their head ( the skull where the brain was hiding away like the bundle of grey matter it was ) and the nerves frying from too much information of both known and unknown concepts that the Puppeteer had the pleasure of obtaining. 

They might’ve blacked out.

The grey starts to swim, give in to the black of the Nothingness and the Puppeteer swears that there is a red save box floating before them, in the space where nothing lives. That’s impossible because there are no save boxes in the Nothingness – nothing exists in the empty space and the Puppeteer existed somewhere else before they were assaulted by all those new senses and a confining body. 

By the time the grey creeps back into their sight, Seneca was tapping his pen on his clipboard impatiently. 

Ah. They did indeed pass out.

“About time you woke up!” He snapped at them, irritation twisting his expression, “After all the effort I used to keep you awake, you manage to drive yourself into unconscious.”

‘You did absolutely nothing,’ They try to say, spite and anger fueling the act. 

Broken screeches of warped syllables and twisted sonant are the only thing that leaves their throat. 

Seneca rolls his beady eyes at the noise, “Great, you sound like the rest of my failures. Must it be too much to ask for something to work for once?” He pauses and shakes his head. 

“At least you are actually awake enough to breathe. Every other time, you kept suffocating yourself to unconsciousness, and I had to pump smoke into your lungs over and over again.” 

The Puppeteer raised their brow at their enemy doubtfully. They don’t remember being awake previously except for today. 

And what did he mean by failures?

“Well whatever,” Seneca continued on, ignoring the Puppeteer’s questioning look, “Up you get. We’ve got plenty of things to get through.” 

‘What things?’ The Puppeteer frowned at Seneca, more confusion accumulating in their mind. 

“Did you really think I’d do all of this without some testing planned for you?” Seneca asked almost giddily, and the Puppeteer is sorely reminded that Seneca isn’t the pint-sized creature anymore but about half their size. 

“I bet you’re demanding to know what I have in store for you, but I always believed that experience is better.” The vulpine grinned at the former bodiless entity, “So come along now. We have so many things to do.”


End file.
